LAS VEGAS — As a fighter, Oscar De La Hoya approached the ring with caution. As a promoter, De La Hoya has thrown caution to the wind regarding Saturday's welterweight non-title bout between Floyd Mayweather and Juan Manuel Marquez (HBO PPV, 9 p.m. ET).
"We strongly feel it's going to break that million mark. That's how strong we feel about the promotion. ... The visibility this fight has had has been incredible," says the president of Golden Boy Promotions, which is the event's co-promoter. "It's just the beginning. You watch." Mayweather-Marquez is a test balloon for a new approach to selling major boxing events. In addition to the PPV telecast, the card will be shown nationwide via closed circuit in 170 theaters through NCM Fathom at $12.50-$15. HBO launched a new initiative to reach younger views through digital marketing and has saturated social networking Internet sites.
Although Mayweather was part of the biggest PPV show in history when his defeat of De La Hoya in 2007 drew 2.4 million buys, this is the first time he's had to be the headliner. Before facing De La Hoya, the biggest draw in PPV history, Mayweather hasn't surpassed 400,000 buys in three previous appearances.
The former welterweight champion has been inactive for two years and is fighting an opponent who has never fought above lightweight (135).
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Ortiz returns: Victor Ortiz (24-2-1, 19 KOs) expects to return to the ring on Dec. 12 on HBO, the bout likely to be staged in the Los Angeles area underneath Shane Mosley's next bout. December 26 also has been floated as a possible date. An opponent has yet to be determined. Ortiz was derailed in his first major bout in June when he retired in the sixth round of a back-and-forth brawl vs. Marcos Maidana as both fighters hit the canvas.
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Coming to America: Oscar De La Hoya announced that Golden Boy has acquired the exclusive U.S. promotional rights to Venezuelan Jorge Linares (27-0, 18 KOs), an exceptional junior lightweight talent who has fought just once on U.S. soil. All but nine of Linares' fights have taken place in Japan, where Akihiko Honda of Teiken Promotions holds his promotional rights. Linares holds one of the three major belts at 130 pounds after a knockout of Whyber Garcia last year. He'll make a defense on Oct. 10 vs. Juan Carlos Salgado (20-0-1, 14 KOs) in Toyko before coming to the U.S. "In order to fight here in the States, he wants to come prepared, not only inside the ring but outside the ring," says De La Hoya of Linares' desire to learn English. Linares speaks three languages, including Japanese. "There's a lot of good fighters in his weight class. ... When fighters tell us, 'Hey I'll fight anybody,' we're going to put him in with anybody. Whoever is in his way to unify the titles, that's who he's going to fight."
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No means no: After the Linares announcement, De La Hoya, who has been retired since his December 2008 stoppage loss to Manny Pacquiao, took a moment to squash any speculation that his news conference Saturday afternoon, or any other news conference in the future, will have anything to do with him fighting again.
"No, I'm not making a comeback. No I'm never fighting. No it's not going to happen and nobody's going to lure me back in," says the president of GBP. "The only fight I'm going to have is a Shaq rematch." De La Hoya won a "decision" over Shaquille O'Neal in a recent made-for-TV matchup.
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Money: Two days before the fight, Mayweather strayed far beyond the Las Vegas strip as he was followed by cameras. Parked across the street from a Salvation Army, Mayweather handed out bagged lunches and bottled water to approximately 75-100 people. "I'm here to feed the American people," he says. "I'm just doing what the President told me to do."
In one instance, he pulled out a roll of cash from his pocket, giving a woman $200 to feed her four young girls. A piece of the segment was captured near the end of the final episode of 24/7: Mayweather/Marquez on HBO.
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The Game: WWE superstar Triple H, aka The Game, will accompany Mayweather into the ring Saturday night. Mayweather participated in the ring at Wrestlemania XXIV last year and hosted a recent live episode of Monday Night Raw on USA Network.
Source:
USA Today Sports
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